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What do you wish you’d known before you made a momentous decision, like changing jobs, moving country or moving house? It is a question many of us reflect upon months or years after making these choices. It is also a query that The National encourages all of its readers who employ domestic workers to regularly ask their employees.

The promise of better economic circumstances is almost overwhelming. It persuades us all to act in haste when we should, perhaps, slow down a little. In the case of domestic workers, it also places a duty of care upon employers to help their new employees settle in, to be sensitive to their concerns and to understand that resettling in a foreign country can take time. It is also incumbent on employers to give maids their rights, such as access to a mobile phone, so as they can stay in touch with family at home. Many maids find their way into good homes and stay with the same household for years; others find it harder to settle. Either way, there should be a broad recognition that these workers do important work and that they should be treated with dignity. Protections for domestic workers have been written into law. Those designated rights must always be backed by compassion and care.